Friday, April 16, 2010

What happened today

It was a difficult day. It started out okay, at the morning egg-stravaganza transfer conference at the college. We had a wonderful plate of fresh fruit, muffins, bagels, and breakfast burritos, including a custom burrito made just for me without cheese--just turkey sausage, hashbrowns, and more eggs than I've eaten in years. No wonder I didn't feel well, though it was so tasty I couldn't stop eating it. The conference was stimulating and interesting too. And I connected with a UCI library intern who said she would come to IVC to do a presentation on doing research at UCI library, or else we can go there (better idea). It's too late this semester, but next year I'll start out fall semester with one of those. Afterwards, I went to the hospital, where my dad's procedure was scheduled for 4 PM. My dad was nervous and impatient. He wanted the nurse to come bathe him, so I got her. Then he was upset because there was a little blood in his IV tube, so I had to go get her again. And then they took him down to do the procedure. I have had a crazy stomach all day, and I really don't think it had anything to do with the eggs. It was just jitters. Even now I feel drained and tired. I won't be going anywhere till tomorrow. Dad was awake all during the procedure, and he was alert and talking when he got out of it. The cardiologist had a talk with me and gave me a little picture of my dad's heart, which is apparently pretty blocked up with plaque, not just in one artery, but in all of them. I know that the arteries in his neck are also blocked, so this didn't really surprise me. There wasn't much the surgeon could do because of the extent of the disease. He said he thought my dad was pretty active, and he liked that, as far as prospects for surgery went, but he said that recovery from surgery at his age was dicey at best, and that his mental state could be badly compromised. Given that it already is somewhat compromised, and he was very upset about that just a few days ago, mourning what he had lost, I don't think that prospect was good. I feel at the moment that surgery isn't a good idea, and he tended to agree with me. My uncle has had several heart attacks, and has suggested some alternatives, such as daily doses of fish oil. I first have to check whether he can take it with the amount of anti-depressant medications he takes. I have heard there could be interaction. There were a couple of other alternative things he suggested, and of course, eating less red meat. But I feel numb, and tired, and my butt hurts.

5 comments:

Thanks Lou. I didn't have the best night's sleep, particularly since the doctor called from the hospital at 6 AM, but I was glad to speak to him. He said he agreed with us about the surgery, and that they can keep him till tomorrow. I'll go to the wilderness workshop hike in Laguna this afternoon, after yoga in Laguna in the late morning, then show the next to last movie in the series.

About Me

It feels odd to tell people, when they ask you what you do, that you are a poet. It is of course not a proper profession, if by "proper" one means a job that brings in money.
It is most certainly an occupation though. Reading, writing, going to poetry events make up a sizable percentage of my life.